New Super Power Pusher™ Features 250,000-Pound Push Capacity

Power Pusher has expanded the capabilities of its durable Super Power Pusher™ with a dual-motor model capable of moving up to 250,000 pounds for enhanced productivity that simultaneously reduces safety risks.

Fingertip controls and compact sizing make the device easy-to-maneuver, enabling a single employee to move loads from 500 to 250,000 pounds for a cost-effective alternative to forklifts, tractors and other ride-on material handling equipment. Additionally, the fully programmable control system adjusts the speed and acceleration/deceleration based on the current load and environment, adapting to individual application requirements. Battery-operated, with 36-volt DC, 1500-watt dual motors and equipped with an on-board charger, Super Power Pusher delivers a powerful, yet efficient, solution to challenging material handling applications.

Engineered to promote safety, Super Power Pusher complies with OSHA Health & Safety guidelines limiting the amount of manual pushing/pulling performed by a single person. Offered with optional safety features, including audible motion beeper, strobe, horn and hand guards, Super Power Pusher is constructed to protect the worker, the load and equipment.

Safety & Profitability

According to the Occupations Safety and Health Administration, a single employee suffering a minor sprain can cost an employer up to $48,505. This figure includes the cost of the injury, wages paid to injured workers, costs related to lost productivity, worker replacement costs and administrative time.

Each injury encompasses direct and indirect expenses that are appropriated from a company’s revenue stream, which hinders its ability to experience profit growth. Therefore, when safety is improved and the resulting number of injuries decreases, these incidental costs no longer impact the company’s capacity for profit gain.

Conventional Material Handling Methods: Manpower

Manpower refers to one or more employees physically pushing or pulling a load to its intended destination. This method of material mobility presents numerous safety hazards to workers, including overexertion and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). With manpower, the majority of the force required to build enough momentum to propel the load forward is through the initial exertion. Therefore, most injuries occur while workers are attempting to set a load in motion. Liberty Mutual Research Institute states that in 2009, the primary cause of serious workplace injuries arose from overexertion due to lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, holding or carrying heavy loads—accounting for 24.5% of all work-related injuries and costing companies nearly $13 billion in direct costs each year.

Relying on manpower to move loads that weigh hundreds or even thousands of pounds contribute to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders within material handling applications. These disorders make up as much as one third of all work-related injuries and effect nearly all tissues, including the nerves and tendon sheaths. The physical strain required when using manpower often causes sprains, nerve damage, hernias and joint dislocations.

To help instill safer material handling procedures, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) outlined parameters on what constitutes a material handling safety hazard. When deciding if a hazard exists, they consider the repetitiveness of lifting the distance from the load to the spine; the weight, size and stability of the load lifted; and the footing at the worksite. Though NIOSH provides helpful guidelines to avoiding injury when moving large or heavy loads, on a busy plant floor, operators do not always have the time to carefully calculate these factors before proceeding.